"Lantana" opens with a woman's body entangled in the brush. She is the catalyst to a mystery, not only because we wonder how she got there but also how her fate will impact a dozen or so Sydney residents.

It's a perfect metaphor for director Ray Lawrence's thesis on love, trust and fury -- especially that which erupts within police detective Leon Zat (Anthony LaPaglia), who is self-diagnosed as "numb and can't feel anything anymore."

Sixteen years ago, Lawrence made his mark in the Australian film industry with the groundbreaking dark comedy "Bliss." It's taken him since then to make his second film, which is based on Andrew Bovell's play. The result is a wonderfully acted, exquisitely paced bit of moviemaking that proves the wisdom of its maturity.

Leon's patient wife, Sonja (Kerry Armstrong), is frustrated by his distance. His about-to-be-divorced mistress, Jane (Rachael Blake), wants more of him. But Leon can't fathom his own heart and when the woman disappears on his beat, his life begins to unravel, forcing him to look inward instead of taking his misguided rage over the malaise of his marriage, aging and occupational hazards out on his family.

"Lantana" is a thriller that features an ensemble cast. There's the upscale couple, John (Geoffrey Rush) and his therapist wife, Valerie (Barbara Hershey), who can't get past the pain of their daughter's murder two years earlier and Valerie's writing of a book that reveals her grief; the economically struggling young marrieds, Paula (Daniela Farinacci) and her unemployed husband, Nik (Vince Colosimo); and the singles who surround them -- Leon's cop partner Claudia (Leah Purcell), Valerie's confrontational gay client Patrick (Peter Phelps) and Jane's sorrowful, soon to be ex, Pete (Glenn Robbins).

Lawrence seamlessly melds this group of spouses and strangers, linking them through their association with a missing woman, producing a treatise about trust while subtly playing on our subliminal fears -- Jane is the predatory female, Patrick the threatening gay. But Lawrence tweaks the stereotypes and creates rich character studies that speak volumes about how we live now as well as what constitutes the basis of happiness.

"Lantana" won several top honors at the recent Australian Film Institute Awards, including acting nods for LaPaglia and Armstrong. It's LaPaglia's finest, deepest role and he's matched by Armstrong, who makes Sonja's undaunting optimism palpable within a trying marriage that's gulping for breath.